Telemedicine

Through a consultation agreement with Eastern Maine Medical Center (EMMC), NMMC is able to to provide consultative trauma telemedicine services. The partnership is supported by a Rural Utilities Service grant for cameras, monitors, and wireless devices which connect to the hospital’s system. The equipment is a state of the art video communication system which has the capability of instantly linking the NMMC emergency team for consultation with trauma specialists at EMMC. The telemedicine service improves patient outcomes by providing earlier consultation and greater access to specialists. The advanced system, which is encrypted to meet confidentiality requirements, provides visualization of the patient and real time vital signs; this facilitates timely diagnosis and the administration of medicine and life-saving treatments. A benefit, as well, is that family members of a trauma patient are able to speak directly with a specialist using the videoconferencing system when life-saving decisions are being made.